The Utah Jazz is cooperating with a NBA investigation into former Jazz guard Elijah Millsap’s allegations of insensitivity against executive vice president of basketball operations Dennis Lindsey, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Millsap, 33, alleged that Lindsey made bigoted comments during a 2015 end-of-season meeting, according to ESPN.
The investigation will examine notes taken in an April 2015 meeting attended by Millsap and three Jazz officials. The meeting included Lindsey, coach Quin Snyder and general manager Justin Zanik, who was then the assistant general manager tasked with taking notes of the conversation.
Utah retained outside help to assist the league in its review of the matter. Utah officials, including Lindsey, encouraged the NBA office to open a review of Millsap’s allegations.
Millsap made a series of posts Wednesday on Twitter about how bigotry is “still very well present in our country and should be exposed and expunged.” He also said that nearly six years ago, Lindsey made bigoted remarks in his exit interview while conversing with Snyder.
“If you say one more word, I’ll cut your Black ass and send you back to Louisiana,” Millsap wrote on Twitter. Lindsey, in a set of prepared notes to media, said that he “categorically denied making that statement,” according to ESPN.
Snyder also told reporters that he could not “fathom Dennis saying something like that.”
The franchise released a statement saying it has “zero tolerance for discriminatory behavior of any kind. We take these matters seriously. We have proactively engaged outside counsel to work in coordination with the NBA to thoroughly investigate this matter.”
Millsap, the younger brother of four-time All-Star Paul Millsap, went undrafted in 2010 and played several seasons in the G League before breaking through with the Jazz. He played parts of two seasons in Utah before bouncing around overseas and earning a short stint in 2017 with the Phoenix Suns. The conversation in question would’ve occurred at the end of his first season in Utah.
The end-of-season meetings, which can encompass an array of topics, are held between front offices and players to review the previous season and things to consider in the future.
Since Lindsey became the general manager of Utah in 2012, the franchise has kept extensive notes. With all of the notes being kept in the team’s database, league forensic investigators can determine if they have been changed or updated.
The Jazz (26-6) currently own the league’s best record.
